kabocha squash simmered in sweetened soy sauce

A few months ago, I had the good fortune of meeting a girl who lived down the street from me. She had just moved into town. Soon, we were eating at one another’s houses and dropping off baked goods for each other during the week. A few days ago, she had me over for a Japanese lunch, featuring some of the foods she brought back from Japan on her last trip.

chicken and shrimp with mountain potato, stuffed in an onion, and served in dashi

I have never had dashi as good as the ones I’ve tasted at Yoshiko’s (and another Japanese friend, Akiko’s) home. Both Yoshiko and Akiko purchase a lot of food products–tea, bonito, pickled items–each time they go back to Japan. I’ve asked them both whether it is possible to find similar products at Uwajimaya, our local Japanese grocery store, but they said no. (I can vouch for that–I went to Uwajimaya this weekend to buy kombu and bonito, and the resulting dashi I made was no better than any I’ve had at a mid-range Japanese restaurant.) After having dashi made from higher-quality ingredients, I can certainly see why this simple soup is such a comforting, delicious staple in many Japanese homes.

assorted accompaniments for rice: pickled plum, tiny fish, and fish flakes with soy sauce

What I enjoy most about eating at Yoshiko’s house (aside from the amazing food she prepares), is learning about all these new-to-me ingredients, and how they’re served. I’ve had mountain potato at Japanese restaurants before, but have never thought to use it in a chicken and shrimp stuffing for an onion. (That dish was something Yoshiko said she saw on a cooking program when she was in Japan visiting her parents, and she tried to recreate it. It was so light and tasty.) Similarly, I have had pickled plum, but didn’t know it is sometimes served as an accompaniment to plain, steamed rice.

white bean surrounds red bean, candied chestnut and gold leaf

Dessert was a beautiful piece of wagashi Yoshiko brought over from Japan. It was a paste-like confection of puréed and sweetened white bean over red bean, filled with a single candied chestnut and topped with gold leaf. We enjoyed this sweet with two kinds of tea. One of the teas was made of kombu, a salty tea that tasted more broth-like than tea. Yoshiko explained that sometimes kombu tea is served with these types of sweets to balance out the taste of the sugar.

a very American ending to the afternoon: I taught my friend how to make a pie, Kate’s way

After lunch, I taught Yoshiko the techniques I learned at Kate McDermott’s pie class. We made a peach pie, and a mixed berry pie. Both turned out well. It was the quintessential American ending to an otherwise exotic afternoon.

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This weekend, I’m off to Portland for a whirlwind eating tour. I’ll also be on KATU on Tuesday morning, around 9am to do a cooking demo for The Newlywed Kitchen. Of course, I’ll be back next week with plenty of photos from the P-town restos we visit. (We are staying at a dog-friendly hotel, so Kimchee will be coming along. I’ll make sure to snap some photos of my little fluffy little girl, too!)